Women’s World Cup as it happened: India notch clinical 95-run over Pakistan

India’s strong start at the Women’s World Cup continued with their third win on the trot, beating arch-rivals Pakistan by 95-runs at Derby on Sunday, to maintain their winning record in ODIs. After the comprehensive wins over former champions England and World T20 winners West Indies, India started shaky against Pakistan, managing only 169 in their 50 overs after winning the toss and choosing to bat. But the spinners, Ekta Bisht in particular, came to the fore with a five-wicket haul to bowl Pakistan out for only 74 in just over 38 overs. Here’s how the match unfolded.

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Here’s a look at the points table of the World Cup, India temporarily on top.

Ekta Bisht is named Player of the Match, to nobody’s surprise. Her stupendous spell of 5 for 18 is what turned the tide in India’s favour right at the start of Pakistan’s modest chase. “I enjoy bowling with the new ball,” she says as she collects her prize.

Wicket! That’s it, Pakistan are all out for 74: Pakistan captain Sana Mir’s fighting, 73-ball 29 resistance comes to an end as Mansi Joshi castles her stumps with a crisp yorker. India win by 95 runs, a comprehensive win despite the low-scoring start. That’s three out of three wins for India this World Cup.

End of Over 35, Pakistan 70/9: A rear-guard resistance from captain Sana Mir and Sadia Yousuf, even as India is a wicket away from victory. Together they have put up 21 painstaking runs in over seven overs since the fall of the ninth wicket and Batting Powerplay has been now taken.

This is Ekta Bisht’s second fifer in ODI cricket and what an occasion to get there – a World Cup match against arch-rivals Pakistan where India doesn’t have enough on the board.

Wicket! The ninth fall and India on verge of victory: Ekta Bisht gets a fifer and Diana Baig is bowled on a first-ball duck. The batter tries to cut but drags the ball straight to the stumps. Pakistan are down and out at 51/9 and India are closing in on a clinical win.

Wicket, Pakistan eight down: Ekta Bisht gets another wicket, her fourth of the match. Nashra tried to chip one off and it goes straight to Mansi Joshi at mid-on, a pretty simple catch. She walks back on 1 off 12 as Pakistan are down to at 51/8. Diana Baig, who impressed with the ball and on the field, is in next.

Wicket! Pakistan in real trouble at 44/7: Harmanpreet Kaur’s handy spin picks up the seventh wicket for India, and this is a crucial one. Nahida was putting up some resistance in face of the falling wickets but her vigil comes to an end on 23 on 63. She misjudges the height of the ball and tries to cut it, but only gets an edge that goes straight to keeper Verma.

End of Over 20, Pakistan 36/6: While Pakistan have not lost a wicket in the last five overs, they have added only 10 runs in 30 balls. Mir and Nahida are trying to build a partnership as Indian spinners Poonam Yadav and Deepti Sharma continue their tight line of bowling.

Wicket! Pakistan are six down: A successful DRS appeal and Asvamia Iqbal is caught behind on a 9-ball duck giving Mansi Joshi her first wicket of the World Cup. Iqbal poked at the delivery and edged it behind to keeper Sushma Verma, who went for a loud appeal but the umpire said no. Verma was confident of the catch, India went upstairs and the nick showed clear on Ultra Edge. Pakistan are reeling at 26/6. Captain Sana Mir is in next and will be hoping to steady the Pakistan procession of wickets.

Wicket! Fifth wicket falls for Pakistan: Deepti Sharma gets into the act now, knocking over Nain Abidi’s stumps – the first non-LBW dismissal of this match. A wonderful delivery that Abidi fails to read and it turns right into the gap and crashes behind. She departs for 5 off 19 balls as Pakistan are tottering at 24/5. Asvamia Iqbal is the new batter in, as half the team is back in the hut.

End of Over 10, Pakistan 20/4: At the end of the Powerplay, India could not have asked for a better start to the modest chase. The top four Pakistani batter back in the hut and India’s bowlers looking just as disciplined as their counterparts in the first innings. Mithali Raj has thrown the ball to young pacer Mansi Joshi, who will bowl in tandem with the spinners.

Wicket! BISHT MODE ON: Ekta is wrecking the Pakistani lineup. Three identical LBW dismissals, with no DRS appeals left. Iram Javed, who replaced the experienced Bismah Maharoof, is the batter dismissed on a three-ball duck. Pakistan reduced to 14 for 4.

Wicket! Triple blow for Pakistan: Ekta on a roll! 2 wickets in her first 3 overs. It’s almost a carbon copy of the first dismissal, ball goes with the arm, batter completely misses it. Sidra Nawaz goes for a duck.

After 5 overs, Pakistan 8 for 2: Combination of pace and spin to begin has worked wonders for India.. Ekta begins with a maiden wicket. Jhulan should have had one in her second over too, Deepti drops a sharp but simple chance at gully. Nahida gets a reprieve. Ekta follows up her wicket maiden with a one-run over. Just 4 runs from the first 4 overs. With the pressure building, Jhulan strikes in her 3rd over. This is a fantastic start for India.

Wicket! India strike again: Jhulan and Ekta have built the pressure and it tells on Pakistan. It was a good length delivery, and Javeria Khan plays down the wrong line, misses it completely, given out. A lengthy discussion follows between the batters and just as she started walking away, she turns back and asks for the review – turns out it was plumb. Pakistan 8 for 2.

Wicket! That’s the start India wanted: Ekta Bisht with her slow left arm, hands India their first breakthrough. Ayesha Zafar has to walk back with only one run to her name. Pakistan 1/1 after 2 overs.

6:45 pm: All set for Pakistan’s chase. If they get to 170, that will be their highest successful chase in World Cup. India will need a special bowling effort.

Meanwhile in Antigua, rain delays start and we had an interesting creature at the toss...

End of innings, India 169/9 in 50 overs: Thanks to a saving hand from Sushma Verma (33 off 35 balls), India finish on 169/9 in their 50 overs. Verma thumped three fours and a six in her knock but unfortunately no one else at the other end could do much. It’s been a good bowling performance from Pakistan and now India’s bowlers will need to step up.

End of Over 45, India 132/6: No wickets have fallen for India in the last five overs, but not a lot of runs have come either. Pakistan’s disciplined bowling and sharp work in the field has paid rich dividends as they continue to stifle the scoring rate. India have scored only 21 runs in the last 10 overs for the loss of two wickets. This would not what the Indian think-tank planned when they chose to bat first.

End of Over 40, India 114/6: Pakistan are not giving away an easy runs as their intensity on the field increased, as India struggled to make use of the Batting Powerplay. Only six runs have come in the last five overs, along with a wicket. Ten overs to go, how much can India fight back?

Wicket! India 111/6: Sadia Yousuf castles Mona Meshram on 6 off 35! Meshram went for the wide slog but completely misjudged the line as the left-arm spinner kept it straight. The stumps come crashing as Pakistan celebrate the fall of the sixth wicket. Jhulan Goswami in next, India will need all her experience if they are to a fighting total.

Wicket! India 107/5: Harmanpreet Kaur departs after a stunning catch by Pakistan captain Sana Mir. Just as India were building after the double blow by Nashra, Pakistan strike again. Sadia Yousuf turns one in and Harman goes for the pull, which falls short and goes straight to Mir at mid-wicket. She dives full length to her left and gets both hands on it close to the ground. Harman, perhaps the last full-time batter in the Indian line-up, is gone for 10 off 23. Sushma Verma is the next batter in.

Wicket, India 94/4: Two wickets in that over for Nashra as another successful DRS appeal sees set batter Deepti Sharma walk back after a well-made 38 off 63. This is strong cricket from Pakistan, keeping up the pressure on India. Thick edge from Sharma is caught behind by keeper Sidra Nawaz, and when the umpire declines, she confidently takes the review and gets the wicket.

Mona Meshram is in next, a lot will be riding on the next few overs now. Meanwhile, Mir has brought back the dangerous Diana Baig in the attack.

Wicket! India 93/3: Mithali Raj is out after a successful DRS appeal from Pakistan. Nashra Sundhu gets her second wicket as the captain is caught LBW. She tried to play it off the backfoot but the ball hits her knee. The umpire initially gave it not out, probably due to the height but an excellent review from Pakistan – with all three lights red – means she has to walk back on 8 off 14. Big blow this for India. Harmanpreet Kaur is in next.

End of Over 25, India 85/2: India begin to accelerate with seven and eight runs in the 21st and 22nd overs respectively. But Sundhu gets Raut in the next over just as she had begun to score more fluently. Captain Mithali Raj came in next and started with a confident four. Left-arm spinner Sadia Yousuf replaced Mir and gave away only four, while Sundhu conceded three in her next. Will the Indian scoring be pegged down again after Raut’s dismissal or will Raj and Sharma shift gears, is the question?

Wicket, India 74/2: Punam Raut falls just three short of a fifty, a tame dismissal after a gritty, fighting innings. She chips a fairly simple, high return catch to left-arm spinner Nashra Sundhu, just as she was beginning to change gears and score faster. Raut falls to her knees distraught after Sundhu pouches it, she was building her innings well on 47 off 72 after seeing through India’s innings out of troubles waters. It’s over to captain Mithali Raj now.

End of Over 20, India 58/1: Mir and Sundhu continue bowling tight overs, as India’s Raut and Sharma continue to build a slow and steady partnership. Couple of chances for Pakistan go down – a questionable LBW shout and a catch just out of reach. Meanwhile, India push past the 50 mark in the 18th over.

End of Over 15, India 40/1: India seem to have decided to break free and take a few more risks after the meager Powerplay overs. First Raut comes forward to Asvamia Iqbal and hook for four and then Baig is taken for back-to-back boundaries in a decisive move from Raut. After three successive maidens, Baig goes for 12 runs in her sixth over as India gain some impetus.

This also prompts captain Sana Mir to introduce spin into the attack in the 13th over, as Nashra Sundhu, 19-year of age, gets the ball and gives away only a couple of runs. The captain herself comes next and bowls a tight over as well. For India, Raut and Sharma hold fort.

Swing is in the air, a lot of it

End of Over 10, India 17/1: The last few overs of the Powerplay were particularly good for India as Punam Raut and Deepti Sharma tried to settle down in the face of the swinging ball. Wicket-taker Baig made most of the movement the ball is getting and bowled three back-to-back maiden overs to stifle the scoring. However, India managed to shed the shackles and score their first boundary in the ninth over. Iqbal gave Sharma a little length and she promptly pulled it for a boundary. India need a lot more of this.

End of Over 5, India 10/1: Pakistan seem to have the upper hand at the end of five overs, having restricted India to only 10 runs and dismissed the dangerous Mandhana. Asvamia Iqbala and Diana Baig have bowled neat, tight lines an taken the full advantage of the pitch that have given the Indians very little room to play their shots so far.

Wicket! India 7/1: This is a big, big blow for India as the in-form Smriti Mandhana is dismissed in the fourth over. Rookie Diana Baig has struck early as she traps the left-hander plumb for LBW. The ball is shown to be pitching in-line and would have gone straight to middle stump, a wonderfully sharp line from the 21-year-old. The opener who scores a ton in the last match has to walk back on 2 off 9, a massive boost for Pakistan. Deepti Sharma in the new batter in.

End of Over 3, India 7/0: India started cautiously with Asmavia Iqbal opening the bowling and bowling a neat line. India got two runs in the first over, with Punam Raut playing a nice drive that found the fielder. Diana Baig, the 21-year-old playing her first Women’s World Cup match, shared the new ball. She bowled a tight over as well, giving away only two runs to Smriti Mandhana, off a mis-field. Asvamia started the third over with a wide but bowled a good lenghth to give away only two more runs.

Opener Smriti Mandhana has been the star for India in the last two matches, with 196 runs including a ton. India will be hoping she continues in the same vein as they look to set a commanding target for Pakistan.

Here are the Playing XIs for India and Pakistan

India have won the toss and elected to bat first. Just the one change for India as Shikha Pandey is replaced by Mansi Joshi.

The match in Derby is sold out – as all India vs Pakistan cricket matches are. Stay tuned for the live action starting shortly.

It’s time for India vs Pakistan again!